Call of the JSP
by SmittyBoy
Summary: Related to The Call of Kyon by SlugSLinger. Welker is an American JSP agent who recently moved to Japan. He is relaxing, waiting for the call back to action. It turns out to be one hell of a call. Fellow JSP agent Kyon has engaged Ultranationalist forces on Japanese soil, who were after Haruhi. Welker's reactivation is here! MainStory: /s/8094452/1/The Call of Kyon
1. End of Hiatus

**Hey there, peeps. This is an alternate set of operations, related to "The Call of Kyon" by SlugSLinger. **

**While Kyon was busy on the front lines, another squad of the JSP was preoccupied dealing with sleeper cells. Codename Welker is an American JSP agent, known for his intelligence gathering, and covert operations. Sit back and enjoy reading about the exploits of Captain Welker and his unit as they attempt to assist Sgt. Maj. Kyon in their attempts to defend themselves and protect their assets from the expanding and aggressive Ultranationalist forces.**

**Story will be told from Welker's perspective for the most part. **

* * *

INITIALIZING_

INITIALIZATION COMPLETE_

COMMAND:_  
INFORMATION ON OPERATIVE \\\WELKER\\\_

SEARCHING_

INFORMATION FOUND_

NAME: WES ANDERSON_  
CODENAME: WELKER_  
AGE: 16_  
NATIONALITY: AMERICAN_  
GENDER: MALE_  
EYE COLOUR: GREEN_  
HAIR COLOUR: BROWN_  
HEIGT: 175 CM_  
WEIGHT: 60 KG_  
RANK: CAPTAIN_  
KNOWN COMPLETED MISSIONS:_

COMBAT OPERATIONS:_  
CLASSIFIED_

C.I.A DEEP COVER OPERATIONS:_  
CLASSIFIED_

STATUS: ON STAND-BY_

COMMAND:_  
LOCATE OPERATIVE \\\WELKER\\\_

SEARCHING_

OPERATIVE FOUND_  
LOCATION: MIYAZAKI, JAPAN_

COMMAND:_  
RELAY ORDER TO OPERATIVE \\\WELKER\\\_

ORDER_  
TARGET $ HAS BEEN COMPROMISED BY UNKNOWN ORGANISATION(S). THEY ARE CURRENTLY MOBILIZING HOSTILE FORCES AND ARE EN-ROUTE TO TARGET $ LOCATION. OPERATIVE KYON HAS ENGAGED HOSTILE FORCES. INTEL OBTAINED ON POSSIBLE SLEEPER CELLS. ALL OTHER UNITS CURRENTLY ENGAGED IN COMBAT. ADDITIONALLY HOSTILES MAY ALREADY BE AWARE OF YOUR PRESENCE._

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: INVESTIGATE LIST OF LOCATIONS WITH POSSIBLE SLEEPER CELLS_

SECONDARY OBJECTIVE(S): GATHER INFORMATION ON SLEEPER CELLS AND HOSTILE INTENTS_  
ELIMINATE ALL HOSTILE THREATS_

ASSISTANCE WILL BE PROVIDED BY OPERATIVES DUEL, MULLET, HIME, GRIMM, MOVIE, AERIAL ASSET SEIRYU, NAVAL ASSET STRIKER_

USE OF LETHAL FORCE AUTHORIZED. OPEN COMBAT PROHIBITED_

GET TO WORK, KID_

SENDING_

ORDER SENT_

And with that, General Carmine Shepherd looked through the file he had received through Sergeant Major Kyon, and the intel was disturbing. According to the information received, the Ultranationalists had been able to set up bases in various areas of Japan. The Americans had already been in the Middle East, the SAS have been engaged in the Russian Civil War. Now, finally, they had a chance to hit them first.

Shepherd was aware, well aware that Welker was on a well-earned hiatus, but he was the best the JSP had to offer in terms of the desired skill set. That and the only other option he would have had was sending more rookies, and that wasn't going to cut it.

He had already informed Kyon that newbies were sent... and then found, disposed of by hostiles. He couldn't afford to keep losing soldiers.

Body bags aren't cheap.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, it's time to get working on the next chapter :D**

**Please send in a few ideas for OCs, and please review, as well as reviewing the other side of the story by SlugSLinger:**

** s/8094452/2/The_Call_of_Kyon**


	2. Meet Welker

**In this chapter, you will be introduced to Captain Welker. He will be the main viewpoint through the story**

**And he is a pretty likable guy.**

* * *

It was a nice day today. A very nice day.

Despite this, I was not enjoying myself as much as I was.

Alright, let me tell you something. My name is Wes Anderson, but I got the codename Welker. It was an allegedly clever joke from Shepherd.

Something about me being American and my name being Wes and the fact I am rather short.

The general said something about me being similar to an american football player, I don't know. He didn't play for the Lions so I didn't care.

Yes, the Lions. Why you ask? If you quit wondering, I'll tell you.

I was born, supposedly in Detroit, Michigan. In the United States. So you may ask, "Why are you living in a Japanese apartment?"

Well, I don't quite know myself. I have been living in Nishinomiya since I had completed my J.S.P. training at the age of 12.

What are the J.S.P. you ask? Well pretty much we're a bunch of "junior" soldiers. I don't like that though. We do just as much as other special forces, and then more.

J.S.P. stands for Junior Soldiers Program. It was a part of a program created by Adolf Hitler and his advisers. In the final months of WWII, Germany was running low on soldiers, kind of. Honestly he had so many soldiers he could have called from concentration camps, but he didn't.

Moving on, the Junior Soldiers Program was a desperation act by Nazi Germany where they began training teenagers to fight the ever-advancing Allies.  
It was called das Kind Krieger Programm or the Child Warrior Program, where the children were put through the same rigorous training adults received. Many times the younger members would die during training. They would be sent in for replacements to the dying and dead soldiers.

Some were used for espionage and information gathering as "sleeper" agents, and even entire cells. Others were trained to remain undercover for many months, and sometimes even years to execute their missions.

And supposedly, they were wiped out.

When the war was done, the UN gathered all the files and information about the J.S.P. and the very idea was terminated, deemed to be to "inhumane".

But you know what? The world believed it, idiots.

The information held in the files were pretty nice. The plans for the necessary physical training, psychological tuning and weapons handling were already there. Every piece of information required to create an outstanding child soldier. It's funny, they had complete approval from the United Nations. Name was changed to the Juvenile Soldiers Program, all was good. Minus one piece.

Recruits that they could turn into their precious child soldiers.

So they turned to one ingenious idea. Why not grab the recruits from orphanages?

It was actually quite smart, after all they couldn't just take children from their families, that ain't subtle.

But from orphanages, no one really gave a thought to it. There are so many orphans, who would miss one? Or two? Or two-thousand?

They would grab children at the age of 12, and eight months later, they were ready to fight.

The instant I turned 12, I rushed to join, and I don't regret it.

I was a quick study, and though the training was hard and my body hurt like hell, I finished the course at the top of my class, as well as one of the youngest of my class. Cat face, haha!

For as long as I can remember, I was on my own. The orphanage I lived in outside of Detroit sucked! So it was only natural I wanted out.

When I joined, I was shipped to Japan to train. Luckily, I picked up the basis of the language quickly and continued to expand on it. As of now, I can speak Japanese and English very fluently, and I can speak the bare bones of Arabic and Russian.

Heh, I remember one student I worked with in particular. I forget his name, but everyone just called him by his codename, Kyon.

He was the only one I couldn't outdo. Not that it's surprising, the "Hunter", was one hell of a soldier. And a nice guy too. I believe he is currently on stand-by, has a new family and takes care of his little sister. He's also in charge of keeping an eye on a Miss Haruhi Suzumiya, and from what he's told me, it's pure hell.

And now, you are filled in on me!

Back to what I was doing, which was watering my plants on the balcony of my apartment. It's a nice view, I can see the entire front of the city. The only pain is half of the time my sunlight is blocked by an apartment which happens to be larger than the complex I reside in.

I don't really have to work, the "old man", General Shepherd pays for all my living expenses. Heh, I picked up calling him the old man from Kyon, and I find it funny. Although he could've gotten me a better apartment. I do enjoy waking up to sounds that don't involve my swearing neighbors.

Regardless, it's nice. I've been in this apartment for about a month. It's a nice apartment on the inside, has a kitchen/living room, two bedrooms, and a very nice bathroom. Yes, I am saying I love my bathroom.

I'm just waiting for the call back to action, but honestly I hope it doesn't happen for a while. It's nice, enjoying this peace.

Oh, but I have to do my own housework. Not that it's bad, I enjoy doing laundry and cooking, it is quite relaxing.

Oh, you still don't know what I look like, right? Gomen, I'll tell you!

I'm an American boy, my eye color is a slightly lighter green, I have brown hair that is about two inches long everywhere but my bangs, they are almost down to my eyes. Oh and my hair covers my neck for the most part. And I usually just wear my hair how it is when I wake up. I usually wear plain colored shirts. Normally I wear a plain green or black shirt, and khaki pants, two normal pockets, two back pockets, and two knee pockets. What? It never hurts to have good pocket space.

Oh, I keep a few ball caps on a coat rack near my door. I rarely wear them. I have a fairly average face, although the girls and a few of my guy friends and teammates say I'm a pretty boy. Meh, I really don't care too much about looks, aside from my hair. And all I do is comb it.

My body is rather slim, and to keep that I run around two miles a day. I lift weights too, like once every two days. My life is fairly peaceful. And I like it.

But I'm still on call, so I need to keep checking my laptop for messages.

I walk back to my room, and go to the closet. Opening it up, it's different from most teenage boys' closets.

There are two Kevlar vests, some fake IDs and passports, disposable cell phones and sim cards, stacks of money which are about 1000 dollars and euros, a few lockpicks, a military grade laptop, some emergency flares, a pair of flashlights, a first-aid kit, some sleeping bags, a USP .45 with about five magazines of twelve rounds and a suppressor, four frag grenades, four flashbang grenades, an FN-FAL rifle with a suppressor, a red dot sight, and thermal scope, as well as eight magazines of thirty rounds.

Well, as much as I enjoy peace, I should check the laptop for messages.

When I opened the laptop, I saw that one message.

... Damn that was quick.

...

...

...

Sleeper cells? In Japan? Ultranationalists? Kyon back in action? Haruhi in danger?

This can't be good.

INITIALIZING_

INITIALIZATION COMPLETE_

COMMAND:_  
LOCATE \\\GEN. CARMINE E. SHEPHERD\\\_

SEARCHING_

NAME FOUND_  
LOCATION: HAMFORD A.F.B_

COMMAND:_  
CONNECT WITH HAMFORD A.F.B SERVER_

CONNECTING_

VERIFY CONNECTION CODE:_  
**********_

VERIFYING_

CODE VERIFIED_

CONNECTION COMPLETE_

CONNECTING TO ASSET ODIN_

CONNECTION COMPLETE_

Odin: Who is this?  
You: W

Hmph, this should be interesting.

Odin: Kid, get ready to work.  
You: I'm ready, as always.  
Odin: Good, you have some work to do.  
You: Yeah I read the message.

He usually makes operations sound easy, this one is difficult no matter what.

You: But why did you reactivate Kyon? The man's had enough.  
You: He has a family now. And seems like watching Haruhi is hard enough.  
Odin: He was the best option available.

Can't argue there.

You: ... Fine.  
Odin: You shouldn't be worrying about him.  
Odin: You have much more work.

Great...

You: I want a better apartment.  
You: And a ficus plant.  
Odin: Kid, sometimes I wonder how you're such a good soldier.  
You: Nothing wrong with botany.  
You: Intel.

Odin: I'll send you what I have.  
You: Copy.

It sounds like he doesn't have that much.

Odin: File sent.  
You: File received.

Looking through the file, it seems like I have my work cut out for me.

You: Sleeper cells in Japan? Ultranationalists here? You certain?  
Odin: Completely. Kyon has already encounter and engaged some.  
You: How'd he get this information?  
Odin: His torture methods are still the best.  
You: Poor guy.  
Odin: It was a girl.

Say again?

You: Ouch.  
You: Alright, who do I have to work with?  
Odin: Didn't you read?  
Odin: Your old team.

Actually, I read that. I just wanted to see it again.

You: Alright, where am I meeting them?  
Odin: About two blocks from your first target.  
Odin: I have a list of sleeper cells for you to investigate.  
You: Understood, locations?  
Odin: Here's the first one.

Alright, lets see here...

This is about two miles from my apartment!

You: So I'm walking?  
Odin: Don't complain.  
You: Yeah, yeah.  
You: Are you certain you didn't just call me because I was the closest?  
Odin: Just get to work kid.  
You: Right. What's the "no open combat" deal though?  
Odin: I don't want you making a mess.  
Odin: Covert operations are your specialty anyway.

I couldn't help but smirk. He had a point.

Odin: Operations begin at 2300 hours.  
You: Understood.  
Odin: They will meet you outside of your apartment.  
Odin: Try not to make a mess kid.  
You: Roger.  
You: Welker, signing off.

CONNECTION TERMINATED_  
RECONNECT?_  
_ YES *NO

Well, I seem to have a lot of work to do. Heh, maybe I'll get to work with Kyon again sometime.

Probably not. Well then, better get set.

I put on my all black. Black shirt, black kevlar, black pants.

I reached into the closet and grabbed my gear. On the way out I grabbed my full black hat.

I walked out the door of my apartment, patting my FAL. This should be interesting.

* * *

**Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Welker is ready to be back in action!**

**Please remember to review this, as well as 'The Call of Kyon' by SlugSLinger!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. First of Many, Operation Start!

**"Hello" - Japanese**

**"_Hello_" - English**

* * *

On my way to the back door of the apartment complex, I saw a vending machine, and bought a candy bar and a protein energy bar. You'll find that those keep you going for some time. Other recruits always used to eat and carry pocky. Eh, not my thing. It's good and all but I don't really love it. Besides, a protein bar keeps you full and a chocolate bar is a quick way to raise blood sugar.

Besides, as an operative trained for stealth, it's good if I'm eating a snack that doesn't crunch.

With all the gear I'm carrying, it'd be bad if anyone in the apartment saw me. I ducked around the complex before sneaking out the back door.  
I was greeted with a shocking yet pleasant sight.

As I stepped out I noticed a black van, and a familiar face leaned up against it. Said familiar face walked up to me.

He was a boy, my age, my height. He had black hair that was about four inches long everywhere and had long bangs. He had brown eyes and the face contours that told he was Korean. He had a much more solid body, and broader shoulders. Like me, he was dressed in all black. Oh and he was waving and smirking at me.

He walked over, and we exchanged a very firm handshake. "Hey Duel, been a while."

"Yeah it has been." He replied with a smile, "Ready to roll?"

"Who else is here?" I asked.

"Well, Movie is driving, Mullet and Hime are in the back of the van, Grimm is aboard the Seiryu, he'll provide overwatch."

"Wait, Niko and Hisa-chan navigate the Seiryu."

"Yeah, but Niko is with the intelligence unit in Zimbabwe at the moment."

"Well, I hope he's doing well."

I remembered Niko was a very small guy. Two years younger than me. About two inches shorter than me. He was very thin. Had laid-back blue eyes, and dark blond hair. He always took point, despite the fact he had been shot a number of times. I sometimes wondered how the kid was still breathing.

Hisa was a short girl, even shorter than Niko, at about five-two, despite the fact she is two years older than me. She had black shoulder-length hair and a small, yet attractive figure. Her brown eyes always had that "What did you do?" look. Always kept us in line.

"_Hell, the kid doesn't know how to die. I'm sure he's fine_." Duel responded with a chuckle as he opened the back of the van.

And when said van was opened I was greeted by a pair of greetings again.

"_Yo Welker_." Was the first greeting. It came from a boy about my age and height. He had blue eyes, and long blond hair in the form of a mullet. There was a rockstar type look to him. He had a body type about like mine, but he also had a bit of extra weight being carried. He was in all black, with eye black and a black bandanna. An AK-47 with a suppressor rested in his lap. He looked German, but spoke Japanese with an American accent.

"Harro~" The second greeting came from another about my age, a girl. She was pretty relaxed, about an inch or two shorter than me, and pretty. She appeared to be Chinese. She had a petite figure with a reserved chest and laid-back eyes. I wasn't sure what the color was, she, like usual, had red contacts in. Her black hair was about to shoulder's length and she was also dressed in black. She was holding onto an MP5 Sophmod with a laser pointer.

"Sup, Mullet?" I asked the boy, giving him a bro hug as I climbed in.

"Same old shit, man." He said with a shrug.

I sat down next to Mullet, and looked over to the girl sitting across from me.

"And 'Harro' to you too, Hime." I said waving, "Have you and Duel started dating yet?"

To my surprise, she smiled. "Actually-"

"We are." Duel completed her sentence as he sat beside her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She responded by giving him a hug.

I was genuinely surprised. I always knew that Duel liked her, but I didn't think he'd ever grow the nerve to tell her.

Obviously he did.

"Aww, how cute." I teased.

"Yes she is." Duel said with a smile.

"No I'm not." She said instantly, slamming the back doors.

"Hey, are you guys forgetting about me?" A voice from the front asked.

He turned back to us. He was a rather tall guy, about three inches taller than me, about a year older too. He has black hair, quite long black hair that is over his neck. His eyes were covered by tinted goggles that just covered his eyes. They were similar to swimming goggles, but with a stiff piece of black metal holding the lenses together. He had a half smile.

"Oh, it's Movie! Whats up, man?" I asked energetically.

"Nothing but the roof of this van." He said, pointing and glancing up.

Typical response. I was actually expecting that response from everyone though, so it's fine if only Movie said it.

"Well, I'm going to start driving now, everyone be quiet." Movie ordered.

Time Skip (10.55 P.M.)

I knelt down and laid out a map of the facility we would be investigating. It was a moderate-sized factory surrounded by a ten foot fence with barbed wire at the top. There were several hallways and small rooms, then a room about three times larger than the others. The main room was surrounded by several small rooms. There were two entrances. One on each side. We would have to travel down a hallway of about thirty feet either way. After that, each team would have to infiltrate three rooms, and we would converge on the main room.

"Alright guys, this is the real deal." I said glancing to each face.

"Let's do this." Duel spoke up.

"Roger."

With that, we all geared up and exited the van. We carefully advances and reached the fence facing the back end. I pulled out my wire cutters and carefully cut out the links to make a space of about three feet tall, two feet wide, just wide enough for us to sneak through.

"Heh, almost too easy." Mullet commented as we snuck through the fence.

"Don't get cocky." I warned.

We each inserted out earpieces as I radioed in to Seiryu, "Seiryu, this is Welker, do you copy?"

"Seiryu is in the sky." A female voice responded.

"Hisa! Nice to near from you." I chimed.

"Hey, I'm here too!" A male voice growled.

"Grimm, so you're still alive."

"Barely." He responded.

"Alright, enough chatter. Grimm, what do you see?" I asked, with a more serious tone.

"Only a few guards. Two are at each end of the complex. Guards on each side. Warning, there are several hostiles on the inside."

Well, obviously.

"Copy that, continue to provide overwatch. Don't shoot unless I give you permission, hoorah?"

"Just don't get killed out there." Hisa said.

I turned my attention back to my team mates, "Alright, Movie, you're with me. Duel, Hime, and Mullet, you take the other end."

"Understood." Was the universal response.

"Listen, all of us will get out of here if we watch each other's backs and remember our training. I want everyone to converge, alive."

With that, everyone pulled up their bacalavas, though they only cover our mouths and noses. I remember how I used to wear the full ones, they were nice for missions in the cold.

Duel, Hime, and Mullet took off the opposite direction of me and Mullet took off in the opposite direction.

"A two-man mission? We haven't done this in a while." Movie whispered.

"Yeah, man. Just don't blow our cover right away."

"Copy." He nodded.

We quietly hid behind the corner from our entrance we were supposed to breach. I glanced over to see two guards dressed in Ultranationalist clothing, sporting AK-47s. Those are definitely not average security guards. They were speaking in Russian.

"Я буду делать все раунды сейчас." (I'm going to do my rounds now.) I heard the one say as he began to walk towards the corner we were hiding behind.

"Back up." I whispered to Movie, and he did exactly that.

I set down my FAL and pulled out my tactical knife, flexing my fingers.

Just as the guy walked around the corner, I quickly punched him in the head, dazing him. Without missing a beat, I turned him around and held my hand over his mouth as I plunged my knife into his neck. I heard a muffled breath as he slowly faded. I dragged him around the corner.

"Nice work." Movie complimented, though I was a bit... concerned.

"Dude?" He asked.

"Wait..." I said as I pulled the mask off of my victim. Then I just had to sigh.

It was a boy about a year younger than me. I could tell me was Russian. I shook my head and used my hand to close his eyes. Blood was leaking into his blond hair.

I turned to Movie, "These are Russian Youth Arms."

"Dang, this is getting serious." He commented.

I could only nod, giving my fallen enemy a moment of silence. It wasn't that I felt bad for killing him, but when given the chance I give respect to those I kill.

After a moment, I handed my FAL to Movie, "Alright, sit back. I'll take the other one."

I peeked around the corner, knife in hand. I saw the other guard was an older boy, leaned up against the wall.

In an instant, I rushed around the corner and tackled him to the ground. Before anything else, I shoved my hand over his mouth and stabbed my knife into his neck, then ripping it out to the right side, splashing a little blood. Luckily, none of it got on me.

"Wow, aggressive as Duel I see." Movie once again commented.

"Ha, I'm not that nuts." I replied with a snicker.

Then I turned my attention to the door, taking my FAL back.

"Breach on three?" I asked.

"Lets do this." He nodded.

"Right inside here should be a hallway about thirty feet long. Be ready to fire."

With that, I lined up on the left side and Movie on the right.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a lockpick. After about six seconds of fiddling, I unlocked it.

Nodding to Movie, I opened the door quickly, surprising those inside. I aimed down the sights of my FAL, as time seemed to slow. I counted nine hostiles in the corridor. The first two to my left I delivered headshots to. Looking down further in the hallway I saw two more fumbling with their weapons, and one with a knife charging me. He didn't get far, I delivered two shots to his torso, dropping him. Aiming down my sights once more I shot one other man at the end of the corridor in the chest.

Glancing to the other side, I saw Movie had also dropped all his targets. The other man at the end of the corridor, the one trying to duck behind a desk, the two to his right, and the one trying to shoot, though his gun was on safety. Rookie mistake.

I glanced over to him, "Nice shootin', Tex."

"Same to you. And they couldn't even return fire so we might still have the element of sur-" He was interrupted by the sound of gunfire from the other end.

"Nevermind." Movie said, smacking himself.

"So much for stealth." I sighed.

After about two seconds, I received a voice on my earpiece, "Sorry about that, we're mopping up over here." It was Mullet.

"Remember the stealth thing? Well there's no point now." I said with irritation.

Then I turned my earpiece to everyone's channel, "Weapons free! Let me know when you get to the door of the main room!"

"Copy!" Was the universal response.

My earpiece crackled once again, "What the fuck is going on in there?" This time it was Grimm.

"Team Two blew their cover, I gave weapons free. Good thing no one lives around here."

"Yeah, you are lucky. No people for blocks, just don't go too crazy."

A little too late.

"Roger that."

With that, me and Movie walked up to the first room, "Ready?"

"Lets do it." He nodded.

I kicked in the first door, and we only had three hostiles. The two with rifles turned to us and aimed, while another one was diving for cover. I aimed and delivered a headshot before he could get to cover. Then I aimed down my sights, but didn't need to fire. The other two were already down. Movie has killer aim.

"Nice job." I complimented.

He gave me the thumbs up as we advanced to the next room. Just as we got in, we needed to dive to cover. In the back of the room, a hostile presence was manning a machine gun, blasting at us. We were pinned down. Quickly I reached into my pocket and pulled out a mirror and a frag grenade. I flashed the mirror over the side, and it was shot to pieces, but not before I got a beat on the turret. I pulled the pin on my grenade and tossed it over my shoulder. I heard an explosion mixed with a scream.

I exited cover and brushed myself off. I didn't think they'd have stuff like this in a warehouse.

"So far, this is pretty easy." I heard Movie say with sarcasm.

"It'd be much easier if we had been able to stay stealthy." I responded.

Not much we can do about it now though.

We then proceeded to the last room. I gave a sigh, "We're getting close."

"One more room then we're there." Movie said, setting his hand on the door.

"Lets do it." I nodded as we kicked in the door. Inside, there was a single operative, who threw his hands up.

He kicked his weapon to the side and was quivering. They don't make children soldiers like they used to.

I took a look at him. As I got up to the operative, I realized he was actually a she. And a very young one.

I glanced over to Movie, "Keep your weapon on her." I said as I walked up to her.

"Can you speak Japanese?" I asked her.

Without thinking she nodded, then instantly realized her screw up.

I looked her in the eye, "What is your name?"

The little girl was shaking uncontrollably, and spoke softly, "Isabella..."

"How old are you?"

"I-I'm twelve..." She said, stammering.

Damn, I'd feel so bad shooting her, it's not fair!

My earpiece began buzzing, "Dude, ready for the last room or what?" Mullet asked.

"I'm a bit preoccupied, go ahead and take the room yourselves." I responded.

"With pleasure!" About two seconds later, gunfire started.

I sighed and shook my head before returning attention to the girl.

Looking closely at her, she must've been a brand new soldier fresh out of boot camp. Her uniform was clean and looked to be brand new. It was completely grey, as was her bacalava. She was quite short, just under five foot. She had pale yet lovely white skin and blue eyes. Her hair was blond, but had two small silver highlights on the right side of her bangs. Looking closer, I realized she must have done that herself. The dye was quite uneven, and the highlights trailed off at the end of her shoulder-long hair. She was extremely thin. And flat-chested. Tears were held up in her eyes.

"Turn around, hands on the wall." I ordered, and she quickly complied.

I began to pat her down, checking for weapons. I could tell she was shaking quite badly.

After a thorough pat down, I backed away. Looking to Movie, I nodded, "She's unarmed. Handcuffs."

He tossed my the handcuffs as I ordered, "Hands behind your back."

Immediately, she complied. As I put the handcuffs on her, I realized how truly small this girl was. The handcuffs just barely went small enough.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a pill. I then grabbed a bottle of water from the table and ordered her to drink. When she tried, she nearly chocked on the water, another sign she was very scared. Which means she probably won't run or fight back. Good.

"Now take this pill." I said, handing it to her.

Once again, she almost chocked and the pill got stuck in the back of her mouth. After several tries, the pill went down. About two minutes later, she was out.

"What was that?" Movie asked.

"A knockout pill. I made it from various plant extracts." I said.

"You really have no life outside of missions, do you?"

Wow, so he CAN be an asshole.

"Shut up." I deadpanned.

Once again, my earpiece went off, "Welker, we secured the main room." Hime said.

"Nice work. We're coming in now." I responded.

I put the young girl over my shoulder, as we walked into the last room. Wow, she is extremely light too. Oh the room. It was very nice, there was a now bloodstained beige carpet, bodies littered around. Four different desks decorated the room, the largest one being in the middle of the room. It had various weapons, a laptop, and a few files on the table. The others were covered in a few snacks and weapons.

As we converged on the main table, the other team was giving me various looks. This'll take some explaining.

"What?" I asked them, trying to sound innocent.

"Why do you have a little Russian girl handcuffed over your shoulder?" Duel asked.

"You take her." I said, handing him the girl.

"I didn't know you were into lolis." Mullet joked.

"I'm not. Don't be a punk."

Hime took a look at the girl, "Eh? She's a soldier? But she looks so cute and innocent!"

"Well, she is. And I don't think she's killed before. A rookie strait out of boot camp." I told her.

"Aww. She's so cute." Duel, and most everyone else fawned.

Great, my team of elite black ops are easily seduced by cute things.

"Glad you think so. Because you and Hime will be the ones interrogating her." I flatly told him.

Duel had a shocked look followed by a disgusted one, "You want my to torture this girl?"

I shrugged, "I don't care what you do. Just see what she knows." I got a smirk on my face, "For a psychology expert like you, it shouldn't be too hard to find out without hurting her."

He looked back at me, "Heh, so you knew about that." He said, losing the disgusted look and gave me a nod.

I picked up the file and began shifting through it.

...

...

...

No. Fucking. Way.

You've gotta be kidding me!

"This isn't good..." I said.

"What?" Movie asked.

"Looks like our enemies really do know about Haruhi and her powers..." I trailed off, then continued, "Ultranationalists. Chinese Rebels. North Koreans. They all know, and they want her. Looks like they're prepared to go after her aggressively too."

"Not good." Duel shook his head.

"This was supposed to be only Ultranationalists. I'd better let the Old Man know." I said. "Alright, we're done here!" I grabbed the laptop too.

"Lets get out of here."

We carefully got out the warehouse and snuck to our van, making sure not to be seen. After all, a bunch of delinquent teenagers wandering the street in all black. Carrying high grade military weapons, gear, and explosives. And having an unconscious handcuffed young girl. We'd be arrested immediately. And that just wouldn't do. We don't "exist" after all.

Once we got back to the van, Movie got in the driver's seat. Everyone took their seats in the back. I carefully set Isabella in between Duel and Hime.

We all decided to head back to my apartment. Setting all of our combat gear in the van, we went up to my room. Still remaining careful, we still have an unconscious and bound little girl with us.

Luckily, we arrived at my apartment without being compromised.

"Dude, this apartment sucks." Movie moaned as we settled down.

"Just go to sleep." I said.

"Mmm..." We hear a small moan and look to Isabella, who is regaining consciousness.

Right away, she sits up with her eyes darting around, trying to move, but her body won't let her.

Mullet stands up and begins to walk towards her, and it doesn't help. She immediately sees him and crawls to the corner, and starts crying.

Damn you, Mullet!

I quickly head over to her and rub her shoulder, "Hey, hey. Isabella, it's okay." I say, calmly.

She looks at me teary-eyed for a minute, before recognizing me and settling down a little bit.

I gently began petting her head, "It's okay, we won't hurt you."

"Isabella," I began, "I'm going to un-cuff you, okay?"

She nodded very slowly, staring at the floor.

As I undid her handcuffs, I could see that she still had some fear in her eyes.

"Hey, Isabella?" I ask as carefully as I can.

She looks at me, curiously.

"My friends and I need to ask you some things, okay?"

She fiddled with her hands before looking back at me and nodding.

"Movie, Mullet. You guys stay out here. Duel, Hime. Come with me and Isabella to my room." I motion toward the hall.

Gently guiding a still uneasy Isabella, we headed into my room.

I sat her on the bed and looked her in the eyes, "Isabella? We need you to answer some questions."

"O-okay..." She says so quietly I can barely hear.

Clearing my throat, I look at her sternly, "You are going to answer all we ask. If you are not honest, we will move to other means of making you..."

I can't finish my sentence, as she looks almost ready to cry. Ugh, yeah I can't stand little kids crying, okay?!

I'm sixteen and could kill several grown men with my bare hands, and has a deep care for children. Laugh if you want.

Once again, I clear my throat, "Isabella, are you Ultranationalist or Loyalist."

"Ultranationalist..." She said, once again very quietly.

This isn't going to be very hard.

"Okay, why were you sent here?"

She looked down, away from me.

I reached into my bag and pulled out alcohol, a scalpel, and handcuffs. I took a look at the girl to see her shaking violently again.

Ugh. Such a pain. Why do I have so much sympathy for children?

She said something. So quietly, this time I didn't even hear it.

Isabella, you will need to speak up.

She looked at me and began to speak again, "We were sent here to act as an outpost. I think we were supposed to gather information too."

She paused, then continued, "All other information was kept by our superiors..."

She began to stare at the floor. I was tempted to use my scalpel and alcohol, but I couldn't seem to bring myself to do it.

I guess I really do have a soft spot for younger children.

Ah! Come on, stay focused.

"Young lady, where are your superiors?" I asked.

"I don't know... And I really never wanted to..." She answered sadly.

I raised an eyebrow, who wouldn't want to know about their superiors?

"Isabella, why don't you tell me everything about you?" What am I doing?

She looked at me, surprised. After a moment, she began speaking, with a rather saddened tone.

"When I was little, my parents and brother were killed my some thieves. I remember my brother telling me to run..."

She had a very wistful smile on her face as she continued, "I lived in an orphanage for years until I turned twelve. There was a man that came on my birthday, gathering recruits to join the Russian Youth Arms... I really didn't want to go, but they made me. During training, I made a friend. He was about two years older than me. He helped my pass my exams and trained with my late into the nights, not leaving until I was completely done."

"Seems like a good man." I nodded.

She had a rather sad look in her eyes as she continued, "He was. About two months before the end of training, I was being beaten up by some of the older boys. They always hurt me and did painful things to me, so I was just crying. It was all I could do. I was crying when he came and tried to make them stop. One of the boys took a swing at him. When he backed up, another boy hit him with a pipe. He kept hitting him and there was so much blood..."

She began sobbing uncontrollably, tightening her fists as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Poor girl..." I felt genuinely bad for this girl. She didn't do anything to deserve all she went through, and even so, she is still such a sweet girl. No one should ever have to go through what she did. Ever.

I reached over and began to wipe her tears away, "It's okay..." I said gently.

She grabbed onto me, continuing to cry. Alright, I have what I need. I see what kind of person she is now, I don't need to keep pushing for more.

After about twenty minutes, she finally stopped crying. Her eyes were red from all the tears she had shed.

"Alright, that's it for a while." I told her.

We all finally exited my room and returned to the main area. To our surprise, Movie and Mullet had pulled out several board games.

"Hey, Hime? Duel? You guys up for some games?" Movie asked.

The two walked over and took seats near the games.

"Hey, Isabella, you too. Wanna play?" Mullet asked the girl.

She blinked for a few moments before looking to me. Despite being an enemy, she was just a little girl. No harm in a few games I suppose.

I nodded, and guided her over to the others.

When I was done getting her situated with my team, I then logged onto my laptop. After ensuring my connection was secure, I contacted Odin.

INITIALIZING_

INITIALZATION COMPLETE_

COMMAND:_  
CONNECT WITH HAMFORD A.F.B SERVER_

CONNECTING_

VERIFY CONNECTION CODE_  
**********_

VERIFYING_

CODE VERIFIED_

CONNECTION COMPLETE_

CONNECTING WITH ASSET ODIN_

CONNECTION COMPLETE_

You: Hey. Old Man. It's Welker.  
Odin: Was your first mission a success?

Well, obviously.

You: I'm alive and talking to you, aren't I?  
Odin: What intel did you get?  
You: Some I wish I hadn't.  
Odin: What is it?  
You: The Ultranationalists aren't the only ones after Haruhi.  
You: The Chinese Rebels and North Koreans are also coming after her.  
Odin: I suspected as much.

What? Damn you! We went through so much shit to get this info!

Odin: Good work. This confirms my suspicions.  
Odin: I'm going to send two battalions to aid Kyon.  
You: WHAT? That's over a thousand soldiers!  
You: Are you certain about this?

He always has been crazy but this is too crazy even for him!

Odin: Man power will be needed to fight them.  
Odin: We cannot allow $ to fall into their hands.  
You: I agree. But don't send them all in at once.  
Odin: Kid, you and I think the same way.

Heh, I guess he still had SOME of his marbles.

You: Make sure to give him some Apaches.  
Odin: Already planned on it. And some Reaper drones.  
You: I'd recommend giving him some Juggernaut suits.  
Odin: Agreed.

Hopefully this will be enough to help Kyon protect Haruhi.

You: Oh, one more thing...  
Odin: What?  
You: I... might have captured a Russian agent.  
You: Her name is Isabella, she is twelve years old.  
Odin: Send her in, I'll have some of my men interrogate her.

What? Cold-hearted bastard!

You: Sorry, sir. But I must decline.  
Odin: What?  
You: With all do respect, she is very young and inexperienced.  
You: She is extremely fragile and... Displays no aggression.

To the side, I saw that Isabella was now a bit more relaxed, and playing a game of Monopoly with Hime, Duel, and Mullet. Movie was getting a kick out of the fact that Isabella was winning. She was smiling. But she was also surprised that my team was playing with her. She hasn't gotten to have this kind of interaction with others. Russians are quite cruel with their training of children.

Odin: How do you know she isn't tricking you?  
You: Well...

I look back over to see Isabella giggling at the fact Mullet went bankrupt.

You: Sir, I can say for certain that she is no threat.  
Odin: Even so, she is still an enemy agent.  
You: That's why I'm keeping an eye on her.  
You: She will live with me and I will ensure that she remains loyal.  
Odin: Kid...

So he wants to play hard ball...

You: Shepherd, you owe me. Remember Mexico City?  
Odin: Fine. But if anything happens, it's on you.  
You: Understood, Welker signing off.

CONNECTION TERMINATED_  
RECONNECT?_  
_ YES *NO

There! That should take care of that! Now then...

I turned to the rest of those in my apartment, "Team, you guys are staying here for a while. Make yourselves at home."

I went to my room and brought out sleeping bags, "You can use these, or the couch. Take your pick."

As my team began to situate themselves, I turned to Isabella, "Isabella. As of now you are in my care and custody. You can have a room to yourself."

Her eyes widened, and she looked like she was ready to cry, only of happiness this time.

I took her to the spare bedroom and sat her on the bed, "Okay, you've had a long night. Get some sleep. If you need anything at all, come get me."

She looked a bit shocked by what had just happened, "A-are you sure? I can stay?"

I gave her my warmest smile, "Isabella is a good girl, you can stay here as long as you want." I began petting her head and sat next to her.

She leaned on me, and about two seconds later, fell asleep. I pulled down the covers and put her to bed.

I'll be sure to take her clothes shopping later. Looks like I added one more to my unusual team.

* * *

**Well, hoped you liked this chapter. You got to see what a great soldier Welker is, as well as what a great PERSON he is.**

**With this, he has a living companion, Isabella is an innocent little soldier girl who has been through alot.**

**I plan on expanding with Welker, Isabella, and the rest of the team. Thanks for reading! **


	4. The Relaxing Next Day, Kinda

**Well, hi readers! I've had a rather open schedule and good ideas for my story, so I've been rolling with this. This upcoming two weeks, I will be a bit more preoccupied. However, before I must resume school I want to update as much as possible! **

**Welker: Yeah, you better.  
Me: Ah! Welker? Where'd you come from?!  
Welker: Not important. Just write! Our readers might get impatient!  
Isabella: Yeah, Welker is right!  
Me: Eh?! Isabella too?! Fine, lets get this chapter started!  
Everyone: Hoorah!**

**"Hello" - Japanese  
"_Hello_" - English**

**This chapter will be a more light-hearted one! It will be Welker and Isabella getting used to each other's company!**

* * *

Ugh. Oh God I'm so tired. Why am I awake?

I look over to the clock. 4 in the morning?! Man I laid down down at like 3! Our mission took til 2, then I spent the next hour getting everything and everyone settled in! Why the heck am I waking up now? Then again, I don't have much I'd be doing tomorrow.

Suddenly it dawns on me why I'm awake. There's a knocking at my door. Oh, someone is going to receive hell!

I walk over and rip the door open, ready to yell... When I don't see anyone at eye-level. What the heck?

Then I feel a tug at my shirt. Oh, now I see...

I look down, to see Isabella look very uneasy. She had tears in the corners of her eyes.

I kneel down so I'm looking here in the eyes, "Isabella? Whats wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

She looks ashamed, "Mhm..." She starts to stare at the carpet.

Lifting up my hand, I begin petting her, "Do you want me to tuck you back in?"

She just shakes her head, "I don't wanna be alone..."

Suddenly it hits me. Oh man, that figures.

I look down the hall to make sure no one was looking.

Then I focus my attention back to her, "Do you want to stay with me?"

While there were still tears in the corners of her eyes, she seemed to be a little relieved. She gave me a small smile.

I can only sigh. What kind of person would I be if I made a little girl go back to her nightmares?

Letting her in, I carefully close the door behind me.

I crawled into my double bed and lifted up the covers. Quickly, Isabella climbed in and latched onto my left arm.

I was about to say something, but she was asleep before I could do a thing. Why do children fall asleep so quickly?!

Well, this would look really bad if someone walked in... but I'm too lazy to get up and lock the door. Plus I don't want to wake a sleeping kitten up.

Once more, I let out a sigh. This looks really bad.

I reach my right arm over and gave her a few pets on the side of her cheek. She began to stir and scooted closer to me... Damn.

It's too late to worry about this anymore. Well I suppose this makes things easier. If she's right here, it would be pretty hard to forget her.

Before long, I drift asleep. I must have been pretty tired, because I had no dream I can recall. Just a period of black.

...

...

...

I wake up to the sounds of birds chirping outside my window, and sunlight listing onto me from said window.

"Ugh..." Geez, I would have liked to sleep some more.

I try to move, but I feel something on me. Then I realized...

Crap! I let Isabella sleep with me last night!

I glanced over to my door. Ah, good, it's still shut. Looking at my clock, it said it was about 11 in the morning.

Looking down, I get an unnerving sight, but also one I really didn't want to disturb.

Isabella was sleeping peacefully, latched onto my arm, with her left arm laying on my chest. She had a serene look, and just a tiny bit of drool in the corner of her mouth.

... This little one really is a sweetie. So sweet I could almost feel a toothache coming on.

Okay, let me set the record strait. I'm not a lolicon. I don't plan on anything happening beyond her sleeping with me after nightmares.

Heck, I'd have preferred to turn her back to the room she was given, but I just couldn't do it.

I really need to wake her up before someone comes knocking. Although... I think in the past I made it pretty clear no one wakes me up without permission.

Reaching over with my left arm, I gently caress her cheek.

"Mmm..." A small little moan escapes her lips before she begins to stir.

She cracked her eyes open very slightly. Then she let go of my arm (Finally! It fell asleep with her doing that!) and rubbed her eyes.

"Well good morning sleeping house cat." I say with a smile.

Isabella blinks a few times before having her eyes widen from the situation.

"Ah! I'm so-" I quickly put my hand over her mouth. It wouldn't be good if we woke the rest up.

"Shh!" I put my finger over my own mouth.

As she nods, I pull my arm back. We are finally talking in a hushed tone.

"I'm sorry, Welker. I was just really scared from my nightmare and-"

"Don't worry about it." I stop her from completing that sentence.

Oh, I just remembered!

"Hey, you don't have any clothes but that uniform right?" I asked her.

She thought about it for a moment before getting beat red. Eh? Why's she so flustered all of a sudden.

About a second later, I got my answer.

As she was climbing out of my bed... I almost had a heart attack.

Her main uniform was off, and in its place was a grey undershirt... and her white panties. Honestly, although her chest was quite reserved, her backside had a cute, petite form, while also being quite attractive and WHY THE HELL AM I NOTICING THIS?!

Okay, count backwards from seven. That'll help. Seven. Six. Five. Four... GAH THIS IS ZERO HELP!

I blame Duel. And Mullet. Mainly Duel. Especially Duel.

But man...

It would have been REALLY bad if anyone had come in during the night.

She quickly tiptoed to her room and comes back with her uniform pants on, she was still quite red.

"I'm really sorry... I just was trying to sleep last night and these pants aren't very good for sleeping..." She said, staring at the ground with the look of a puppy who'd been caught in the act of chewing shoes.

Why in God's name is SHE the one apologizing?!

I took a quick second to gather myself, "It's fine, you didn't have anything else... Hey, wait outside my door for a second, okay?"

Isabella gave a nod. I decided to add one more thing, "And don't make any noise." Again she nods.

Once she is out, I took a moment to put on some normal clothes. I grabbed a plain light green shirt

Then I put on some khaki pants, and grab my wallet. Inside my wallet, I have a credit card with no limit. Being in the J.S.P. has it's perks I suppose.

I double checked my zipper before I exit my room. I've had a day where I walked around a whole day with my zipper down. It's not cool.

As I exit my room I take a look to the left. Isabella was sitting, leaned up against the wall.

"Hey, Isabella?"

She looks up at me with a nervous face.

"Come on, we're going shopping for you. You need some new clothes right?"

Then, a look of happiness sneaks across her face, "You mean it?"

Heh, she is really cute when she's happy too, "Yeah, come on. But lets be quiet okay?"

She nods happily.

Before we left, I took a look into the living room. Ah, good. Everyone is still asleep.

Anime and manga always made it out to be normal for the other characters to burst in during bad circumstances. Not accurate at all. Then again, I might just be lucky and that's why no one came in? Scratch that, I know I'm lucky. Wouldn't be alive right now if I wasn't.

I took a second to write a note and set it on the table between them. It basically said that me and Isabella went out for a little.

With that, we carefully locked the door and headed out.

The area we were residing in was quite pleasant. It had some markets, and several window stores.

Isabella was so excited, her eyes darting from shop to shop.

Of course, the main thing I noticed was that she was holding onto my hand, pointing here and there. However, she was much quieter than most children when they are taken shopping. She would tug on my sleeve and have me put my ear right by her mouth, and she'd have me look in different directions.

"Oh, Welker!"

Isabella and I stopped to look at where the shout had come from. Well, I'll be!

The voice came from a stand selling produce and sweets. Behind the counter was an elderly man, about in his mid-80s.

"Oh, Mr. Takahashi! How are you doing today?" I asked happily.

Over the course of my stay here, I'd visited only a few shops and stands more than once. Mr. Takahashi runs the stand where I would buy all my fruits and veggies. I'd have a pleasant conversation with him every time I made a purchase.

"Quite well!" He responded. Then, he took notice to the young girl who was latched onto my arm, "And who might this young miss be?"

Damn, how should I explain this... Oh, I got it!

"This is my cousin, Isabella. She will be in my care for a while. Her guardians have gone on a business trip overseas for a long while." I lied.

Isabella quickly picked up on what I was doing and played along, "Hello, it's a please to meet you, Mr. Takahashi." She said with a curtsy and her cutest smile.

"What a polite girl! And what a cute one too." Mr. Takahashi said.

I reached down and patted her on the head, "She's a very sweet girl." I agreed.

She had gained a slight red blush from all the praise we were giving her.

"Oh I know!" The elderly shop keeper said, "Here, young lady. This is for you." He reached across the counter and handed her a chocolate bar.

Isabella took the candy bar, giving many thank yous, and smiling adorably.

She tucked it in her pocket as we walked away, "See you later!" We said simultaneously.

"You're not going to eat that?" I was surprised, usually candy lasts about two seconds with children.

"I'm going to save it for later!" She said, smiling.

I petted her on the head, then returned my focus to walking.

"I know exactly where to get you some clothes." I said.

She just held onto my arm and nodded. People are really giving me dirty looks now... What? Got a problem? Geez, unbelievable. People ALWAYS assume the inappropriate.

After about a twenty-minute walk, we arrived to a small store called "In-Clothes"

Now that I read it, the name really sucks. I mean, what the heck? Oops, getting off-track again.

It was a shop where everything was centralized. Casual, dressy, and nighttime attire.

"Ooh..." I heard a small voice squeak.

Looking down, Isabella's eyes were practically SPARKLING, looking at all the clothes. Girls really do love shopping, don't they?

While watching Isabella, I heard a rather peppy female voice speak, "So, Welker's a lolicon? A pervert?" Oh, you've gotta be kidding me.

A young lady my age came walking up to us. She has brown hair tied into a ponytail, a pink skirt just above her knees, and a light green shirt. Her figure was moderately developed, she was about a B-cup. Her eyes were a lovely hazel, going nicely with her hair color. Okay, so she's pretty. I said it.

"Yo, Ami." I said with a mild wave.

Yeah, I know her. Her name is Ami, she's a fellow JSP agent. I was in the same class as her in JSP training. She never had dazzling marks, but she was above average. She always seemed to like to bug me, in fact she never let me alone! Not that it's a bad thing, her energetic personality and good looks really kept spirits up. Now, she has a pretty easy task. She is retired for the most part, but she still sends me tid bits of info every now and again. And she texts me constantly! But again, it's not a bad thing. During training, she always went out of her way to help everyone else, instructors included. Not a single person disliked her, and she liked everyone. But for some reason, she really liked me, and as such, we stay in pretty constant contact.

"What? Just a simple greeting like that? I think I should feel offended." Ami said, sticking her tongue out at me.

"You should feel happy I gave you my greeting usually reserved for friends."

"Huh? Don't you consider me a friend?" She asked, purposely tilting her head and giving a cute expression.

"More of an annoying acquaintance." I said teasingly.

"Aww, that's so hurtful!" She joked, pretending to grasp her heart.

"So I take it drama club has been working out for you?" I asked snickering a little.

"Actually, it has! It's really fun!" She said happily.

She then reset her posture, "_So I heard you were called back to duty."_ Her English still has a bit of a Japanese accent, but it made her sound much cuter.

_"Pretty much. We have some deep shit going on. You back to duty as well?" _I asked.

She gave a smirk and shrug, "_Meh, kinda. I'm still just an informant..." _She began, "And an adorable salesperson!" She finished with a wink, sticking out her tongue.

"Ha, quite a nice life. Is Mr. Itakato treating you well?" I asked.

Right after her thirteenth birthday, she was adopted by the owner of this clothing shop, Taito Itakato. He is quite a nice guy, and a good business man. But another thing, he completely spoiled Ami from day one! In fact, I'm surprised she isn't spoiled rotten due to that fact. But somehow, she retained her glowing kindness and personality.

Ami gave me a peace sign with her left hand, "Hehe, you know it!"

"So how's work?" I asked, feeling like catching up a bit.

"Pretty cool! I love people and I got a passion for clothes, so this job rocks! Plus having your Dad as your employer is pretty nice too." She replied happily.

"Does that mean you slack off? Sit back and order the other employees? Take extended brakes without signing out?" I asked jokingly.

"Owie, you're hurting my feelings!" She replied with a fake sadness.

"Haha, I'm kidding! I know you're doing a great job."

She returned to her usual standing position and smiled, "How did you know?"

"Just intuition. But anyway..." I decided to return to the reason I came to the shop.

I glanced down at Isabella who was tightly grasping my arm with both of her arms, intently listening to our conversation.

Ami looked back at her, and suddenly began petting her, "So who's this adorable little girl anyway?"

Isabella looked curiously at Ami, before smiling, "Hi! I'm Isabella!"

"Pleased to meet you, Isabella! My name's Ami!"

"Nice to meet you!" The two girls were grinning at each other, and exchanging various greetings.

After a few seconds, Ami glanced back at me, "_Welker? What's the deal? Where did you pick this little sweetheart up? And where can I get one?!"_

I laughed a little, "_Pretty sure she's one of a kind. Well, lets just say my latest mission ended up with me having this adorable child living at my house."_

Glancing back, Isabella had a confused and curious look on her face. Guess she can't speak English. I'll remember that.

"What are you guys saying?" Isabella asked.

"Nothing at all." I said simply.

She began to pout, "Please tell me what you guys are saying!"

"Some other time, okay?" I asked her. Actually it was more of me telling her that.

"Isabella, you can't speak English?" Ami asked her.

She shook her head, wearing a sad face with a slight blush.

"I'll teach you sometime, kay?" Ami told the young girl energetically.

"You will?" Isabella asked excitedly.

"Promise!"

"Ahem," I feel as though we're never going to be done, "Anyway. The reason we came here... Was because Isabella has absolutely no clothes other than that grey shirt and those combat pants."

"And you want me to help her put a wardrobe together?" Well, Ami knew exactly what I was gonna ask.

"Pretty much. Help her out?" I asked.

"Leave it to me!" Ami said with confidence.

In about a fraction of a second, I was thrown into a chair directly outside the changing rooms.

"Alright, we'll go through some outfits, and you grade them!" Ami ordered me, while carrying a mass of clothes into Isabella's changing room.

"Wah! So many clothes!" Isabella chimed.

Sigh. Looks like I'm judging her outfits.

About twenty seconds later, Isabella and Ami threw the door open... And again, I nearly had a heart attack.

Ami had the widest grin, while Isabella crossed her arms nervously. She has on a translucent red top that covered from her collar to about two inches below her breasts. Underneath, I could see a black training bra. She also had the shortest short shorts I've ever seen. They hugged her body and covered her hips and important areas... and that was about it. Right after her... Important area, the shorts stopped. So basically about six inch short shorts. Seriously, Ami?!

"Ah, um... It's... Uh..." I nervously sputtered.

Ami suddenly gave me an amused, catlike look, "So you are a lolicon!"

"I am not!" I responded.

"W-Welker?" Isabella squeaked, "Do you not like me?" She asked sadly, looking as is she was going to cry.

"Isabella..." I walked over and gave her a hug, "Listen to me. I love having you around, it's nice having a rational person around. But, um... It's not very tactful for you to be walking around in that for all eyes to see."

"Do you mean that?" She asked.

"I promise I love having you around." I said with resolve. Hope this won't come back to bite me.

"Oh, so that's how it is." Ami said confidently.

"What's it?" I asked nervously.

"You're like a big brother! An overprotective big brother! You're her Onii-chan!" She shouted, pointing her finger at me.

"Eh?! Well... I guess I am." I admitted. I guess I never really noticed I had a need to be like that. "But quit your pointing, it's rude."

"Welker is my Onii-chan?" Isabella asked.

Huh? HUH?! So now she's calling me Onii-chan, great... See what you do, Ami?! I'll probably die from this before any of my enemies! This feels like an anime now! Which means my life won't be getting any easier. Ugh. Well...

I sighed, not much I can do now. "Yep! So as your Onii-chan, it's my job to protect you! And in order to protect you, I say you ain't wearing that."

"Aww, but it works so well with her adorable disposition!" Ami whined.

"Umm..." Isabella spoke up a little, "Actually this feels really embarrassing..."

"This type of outfit is all the rage in America." Ami pointed out.

"Yeah, well we aren't in America are we?" I asked, shaking my head.

"Well, I guess we can try some other outfits. Welker sit down, we're shutting the door!" And with that, I was literally kicked out of their changing room...

OUCH! Geez, really? Really, Ami? Was that really needed? Ugh, that hurts...

I walked over and sat back down in the chair, I wonder if it's my body or heart that's gonna be in jeopardy?

About two seconds later, the changing room door flew open again. Except without the "Give Me A Heart Attack" factor.

This time, Isabella was dressed quite nicely. She had a knee-length, pure grey skirt with a dark blue shirt with a pronounced red heart on the center of the chest. She had simple black shoes with a strap and buckle on each shoes outer edge. She had a black bow in the back of her hair, making a ponytail.

"Ta-da! presenting Isabella!" Ami shouted.

"H-hows it look?" Isabella asked nervously. She had a little bit of a blush. Man, she has a high moe factor!

"Looks great!" I said with a smile and a thumbs up.

Isabella's eyes lit up, "D-does it? Welker-"

"No time for chit-chat! We have way more outfits to try!" Ami cut in.

"... How many am I going to have to grade?" This can't be good.

"Oh, about a couple hundred!" Ami said with a cruel smile.

Are you freaking kidding me? Seriously? Seriously?! Help! Anyone!?

**Three hours later...**

Good news, we're right outside my apartment, at the door. Bad news, I'm carrying like six bags! In the end, Ami had me buy about three wardrobes, and I had to carry them all two miles home. Man, these clothes are heavy!

"Welker, I'm sorry..." Isabella said with a sad face.

"It's fine. As I said, I was going to buy you clothes, I just didn't expect it to be like fifty pounds of clothes." I said with a bit of pain.

"I'm sorry you had to carry so much..." She still looked sad.

"Really, no trouble, I couldn't make you carry this. Mainly because this feels like it's heavier than you." I said jokingly.

"Hehe, it looks like it does!" Isabella said, giggling. Phew, it's much better when she's happy.

With great difficulty, I use my left hand to open the door, "We're back!"

Silence. Huh? Turning my body to be able to see the apartment, no one is here anymore.

"That's odd... Isabella, I'll take your clothes to your room. Sit on the couch and watch TV or something."

"Okay!" She chimes back.

When I took the clothes to her room, I realized the full length of the hallway. Fifteen feet feels like fifty feet...

Oh well.

Walking back out to the living room, I see Isabella holding a piece of paper.

"Isabella, what's that?" I asked.

"Here!" She runs over and hands me a note.

The note reads:

"Hey, Welker. Sorry, but we had to take off. Apparently we have some other missions we need to do. Yawn. The old man expects way too much.  
Well, that aside, we'll be back around different dates. But don't expect us back soon, lots of stuff to do. Movie is off to the US. Apparently there are signs of Ultranationalist presence there. So that's what he needs to look at.  
Hime is off to Zimbabwe to assist Niko. Heh, how about that team? Feel bad for the OpFor, eh?  
Mullet and I are positioned in Korea. We're sitting near the 38th Parallel. Keeping an eye out for North Koreans.  
We won't be back for a while, like I said earlier. So the house is completely your's and Isabella's. Don't do anything inappropriate. Ha joke!

This is Duel, signing off."

... That joke wasn't very funny, Duel.

I feel a tugging at my wrist, and look down to see Isabella smiling, "Welker, come watch TV with me!"

Eh? Huh, she really is just a normal little girl, isn't she? Well, no harm in a little TV I guess.

She dragged me to the couch and turned the channel to some anime about a magical girl using English phrases.

"She's teaching me English!" Isabella sang happily.

That's great, but so I really need to watch this?

"Oh yeah!" Isabella gasped as she reached into her pocket. She pulled out her chocolate bar and split it in half.

"Here, take half!" She said, handing me part of her candy bar.

"Eh? Isabella, this is yours." I protested, trying to give it back to her.

"I'm not going to be happy unless you take it!" She shouted.

"Huh? Are you sure?" This is odd.

"Yes! Eat it!" She said, taking a bite of hers.

Geez, children are forceful these days. "Fine."

So now it's just me and her here. It actually seems more peaceful. Less fun, but more peaceful.

Eh!? Very suddenly, Isabella lays her head in my lap and closed her eyes.

I was prepared to protest, when realized she was already asleep.

Well, I suppose her company is really nice.

* * *

**And there's chapter four! Aww, wasn't that sweet?**

**A pleasant change of pace from all the action! But don't get too comfy. **

**The next chapter, Welker and Isabella are going to be in the thick of things again!**


	5. New Location, New Team

**After a fair amount of time, I bring you a new chapter. Chapters will begin flowing once again. **

**I was struggling with motivation and ideas for a while. Writers block, I guess. Or laziness, sorry about that!**

**But...**

**The story will be getting brisk from here on out. The shadow operations and flashy peace talks are done, now it's time for action.**

* * *

...

"Only the dead have seen the end of the war."

...

* * *

Ugh...

... Not the way I like to get up every morning. My neck is stiff as hell!

Ouch!

Stirring, I really want to get up, but my body won't let me. Well, guess I shouldn't have slept on the couch sitting up.

Glancing down, I notice Isabella is still sleeping in my lap.

... She hasn't moved at all since last night!

"Come on, Isabella. Time to wake up." I gently shook her, hoping she would wake up.

"Mmm... Five more minutes..." She mumbled before falling silent again.

... I can't sit here all day. I need to move her. Reading over, I gently shifted her the other way so her head was resting on the arm of the couch.

"Uuuuu..." She whined a little bit before going back to her deep sleep. Phew! Well now...

I walk over to the table, grab my laptop, and walk onto the balcony.

... Hmm. A new messages. Looks like I don't have time off.

Well... let's see...

...

...

...

... Damn, Shepherd. How'd you let that happen? We're down 50+ men!

Then again, we didn't lose anything of great value, aside from the charred city that was once Nishinomiya. That's a damn shame, though.

More ominous though, is the appearance of lycans. I know we killed them off.

The Great Purge. An operation with the sole purpose of eliminating all naturally occurring super beings.

The eradication of every last one. The genocide was absolute. Wasn't a walk in the park either. Those bastards didn't know how to lie down and die. Well, not at first. I suppose we'd all tire of constantly running from death. She always catches up to you. Always. I suppose it wasn't the right thing to do. But like all good little operatives, we did our job.

Some of us tried to turn it into a little game. How many could a single operative kill? This was a dark time for us, we were just travelling butchers. That's a nice way of putting it. Killing all of them. It wasn't even a fair fight, most of those beings didn't even know how modern weapons worked. We just shot them down, one after another. Kill. Just kill. That's what we did.

Probably for the best though. It may have been only a matter of time before they struck at us. Self-defense, or should it be called paranoia?

...

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

Eh? My phone? What?

Suspiciously, I answer my phone, "Hello?"

"_Oblivion_." A strong and familiar voice responds.

I'll be damned! "_Harbinger_. Alexey! I haven't heard from you in such a long time!"

"Good, you're still alive. Yes it's been over a year, Welker!"

"Heard the noise you guys have been making. Nishinomiya must be a mess."

"Oh, yeah! You cannot tell the restaurants from the restrooms!"

"Lovely. So what gives you a reason to call me? Or did you just miss me." I couldn't help but chuckle a little bit asking that.

Alexey chuckled a little bit himself, "I see you have retained your sense of humor!"

"If you found that funny."

"It was. But I come to you asking you participate in a meeting we will be having. Some of the other captains and squad leaders will also be there."

Other captains? Geez, this must be big. "What's the occasion?"

"We're still sorting out how everything is going to go. Nishinomiya is half destroyed, and we're fairly certain the enemies have established hidden bases."

"So just another day in the life of the JSP?" I asked half-joking.

"You guessed it. Coming to the meeting?"

Not like I have anything else to do. Well... nothing too pressing. "Count me in. When's the meeting?"

"It starts in two weeks. Captains are going to start showing up the day prior." He said.

"Very well. How long will it last?"

"The actual meeting is only that day. We want you and a few captains to stay a while. You will probably get some good missions around here."

Stay? In that battle-scarred town? To do the military's dirty work? "Sure, why not?"

I heard Alexey laugh on the other end, "We look forward to seeing you here!"

Light footsteps pull me out of my conversation. I look over to see Isabella rubbing her eyes.

Ah, crap.

"Mmm... Welker?"

Ugh, can't leave her alone. Might need to mention this. "Hey, Alexey?"

"Yes?"

"I'm going to have a companion with me. Should that be fine?"

"Companion? I thought your team dispersed?" Alexey sounded a bit surprised.

"Yeah, well I picked her up from a previous mission. She's living with me at the moment, and I can't leave her."

"Oh? A girl, is it?" Alexey sounded amused.

"It's not like that, Alexey. She's too young for me, bro." I saw that a t-shirt somewhere.

"Alright." He said unconvinced, "She can come too. If she's good, she can come to the meeting itself as well!"

Alexey, I can always count on you, "Oh, and since my current team is dispersed, as you said. I'll be sending you a list of operatives I'd like to have."

"_Very well, Welker. I shall make sure you get them_." He replied quickly.

"Hoorah, see you in two weeks."

"See you there."

Hanging up the phone, I look back to Isabella, who is wandering over to me.

"Sleep well?" I asked.

She let out a yawn before replying, "Great! Who was that?"

"A friend. We'll be heading to Nishinomiya for a while."

"Oh, when?" She asked.

"In about thirteen days. Be ready."

"Okay!" Was her excited response.

**13 Days Later**

Getting out of the vehicle, the scene was a bit numbing.

A war-torn, half-destroyed city. A rag-tag military base. There are about several square miles shut off from the public's watchful eyes.

Blackhawks are constantly dispatched to fly over the good parts of the city. Same with the APCs, constantly rumbling around.

"This place is a mess." Isabella's voice pulls my consciousness back from it's stunned state.

I look back to her, "Hey, I've seen far worse."

"You there!" I look over to see a young lady with in a medic's uniform, clipboard in hand.

A welcoming committee of one, lovely.

She walked over to me, and glanced between myself and Isabella.

"Are you Welker?"

Huh, I guess she is the welcoming committee. "Yes I am. And you would be?"

Her green eyes with mine and she offered her hand, "Corporal Annabelle Wernstein. My codename is Doc."

I extended my own hand. Surprisingly, she had quite the firm handshake, "Pleased to make your acquaintance." I said smiling.

"Pleasure is mine. I've heard a number of great things about you, sir." Doc told me.

I chuckle, "The stories are probably better than the actions."

"There are almost as many stories about you as there are about Kyon." She said.

"Speaking of which, where is that pessimist?" I haven't seen him in ages.

"He's probably sitting at home like all the other students. School's been shut down, so he's spending all his time doing who-knows-what." She tells me.

Well, that's a bit disappointing. I was hoping to talk to him.

"Well, nothing I can do about that." I think out loud, sigh and all, "Heard he was a big hero in the recent debacle."

"Yes he was. In fact, he took out multiple super beings himself." She informed me.

"Never ceases to amaze me."

Using her index finger, she adjusted her collar, "Well, ready to be shown around?"

"Sure, please lead the way."

With that, Doc began to lead us into the central base. It was a very simple base. Simple, meaning all tents!

There are several moderate sized tents, about twenty feet long, organized around the base. Then there is a massive tent, probably fifty feet long. That's the mess hall. Or mess tent I suppose.

"Over here are the tents that the operatives are sleeping in. And that's the mess hall." She said, pointing to the tents respectively.

"Isn't that technically a mess tent?" I ask, jokingly.

"Technically. And over there's the makeshift armory." She said, pointing.

The tent she pointed at was off to the side of the mess hall a little ways, surrounded by various other large tents. It had several military trucks and various APCs and tanks parked around it.

Stopping for a second, I count the vehicles.

"Hmm... Fourteen trucks, five APCs, three tanks. How many vehicles are on patrol?" I turn and ask my blond-haired guide.

Doc took a second to check her watch, then looked back to me, "Right now, there should be two trucks and three APCs on patrol in the city right now." She said.

"Geez, we seem to be a little short-handed. I thought Shepherd sent more vehicles than that." I thought aloud.

"He did. Took 'em back. Need the extra vehicles in the Middle East. Al-Asad won't get away." She concluded confidently.

"That bastard's days are numbered." I agree.

"Yeah... Well, it's about time to show you your tent." Doc said, glancing at her watch.

"Lead the way."

She directs us to some red tents hidden behind the tents the normal operatives were staying in. She points to the one closest to the mess hall.

"You'll be staying in here." She pulled the flap of the tent open to reveal a small table with a lantern, and two cots.

Rather simple arrangements. Not that I'm complaining.

"If you need anything, I'll be in the medical tent." She points to a series of tents off to the side near the armory, one of which had a medical red cross. The other was a tent that was mainly dark green in color, with splotches of lighter greens on it. It had two entrances, and was a bit larger, about twenty-some meters if I had to guess.

"Your meeting will be in the tent with the two doors at noon tommorrow."

"Oh, okay. Thanks for the tour."

Looking at the sky, it's already quite dark. If it weren't for all the lights and lanterns, it would be pitch-black out here.

Isabella and I set our bags next to the tent door. She then runs over and hops on her cot.

Is she seriously tired? I doubt it.

As I'm about to question her on it, she reaches into her bag and pulls out a notepad and paper.

"Isabella?"

"Huh?" Without looking a me, she responds rather distractedly.

"What are you doing?"

She had her face buried in her notepad, focused intently on whatever she was doing.

About six seconds after I ask my question, she looks up.

Taking her pencil, she tapped the eraser against her head. "Just a little bit of poetry, I can't seem to figure out a good one."

Poetry? I'm staying away from this one. Poems are fine and all, but I've been to poetry reading. Some people have poems about four pages long. No thanks.

Though... I should probably give some advice, "Hey, don't over think it. Poems come from the heart, they're expression. Can't force it."

"Aww... but I really want to write a good one..." She purses her lips at me, though she seemed more disappointed than anything.

I let out a sigh, she really won't let this one go. Well, lets see what she's got, "How many lines do you have?"

Isabella uses the tip of her pencil, and taps the paper a few times, then sheepishly looks back to me.

She stares at the wall of the tent for a little. While still staring away, she says quietly, "Well... none yet. Just some ideas for poems..."

"So you haven't even really started." I tell her indifferently.

She blushes a little bit, "... Yeah... Maybe I just don't have any talent for this. I've tried about twenty-something times and I still can't come up with a good one."

"Seems to me like you're over-thinking it. Just write without thinking and let your heart and hand work in harmony."

"Quit making it sound easy!" She yells.

What? Isn't it easy? Poetry is mostly just people writing about something that matters to them. Wait, that's a great way to put it!

"It is if you are writing about something you care about. We're in the middle of a war, you'll get inspiration at some point." I tell her as I sit on the other cot.

"Are you sure?" She asked, pressing the eraser against her cheek.

"Trust me. War brings the best... and worst, out in all of us. Inspiration won't be too far behind."

Glancing at my watch, I realize it's already past midnight.

"Isabella, it's time to go to sleep."

"M'kay." She slides off her shoes and covers herself up with the blanket sitting on the cot.

I pull up my own covers, and turn out the lantern.

...

...

...

* * *

Adjusting my deep blue hadron vest-style windbreaker, I glance at the time. It's just about noon. Walking out of the tent, I look at the sky. It's rather dark and ominous looking. Knowing my luck, as well as the luck of the rest of the J.S.P., it might actually be alluding to something. Please just let it be my paranoia. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

It's irritating. No matter how many times we have a meeting, I still feel the same uneasiness every time.

"Welker?" I snap back to reality and look away from the sky and back toward my energetic partner.

"Right, let's go..." I nod at Isabella, and we begin walking toward the meeting tent.

Walking up to that tent, I realize how big it was compared to the sleeping tents. Perfect for a meeting, as the tent was nearly sound-proof, but the zipper windows were still open. Probably going to close them when the meeting finally gets started. Not that we're going to be talking about nuclear launch codes or anything of that magnitude.

... Right?

Shrugging, I pull open the tent flap an walk in.

I was a bit surprised to final a series of long plastic tables you'd expect to see at a mundane family gathering that no one particularly cares for.

There are various other people who turn their heads to glance at me.

"Welker!" I hear a voice exclaim. Wait... This voice!

GAH!

Just as I turn, I feel a powerful grip hug and lift me off the ground, "... Need... Air... To... Breathe..."

I get dropped as quickly as I was lifted and look at the culprit with a half smile.

"Alexey, did I ever tell you I like to breathe?"

The person I was talking to let out a strong laugh. This person was my former squad leader, as well as another certain person's.

Looking at Alexey, he is a little taller than me. And much stronger. He had brown hair and blue eyes, and was looking directly at me with a bit of a smirk.

"Welker, it's good to see you again." He says.

"It's nice to see you as well. But seriously, man, I do like breathing."

"Come now! Why are all my former teammates so uptight these days?" Alexey asks me.

I kinda shrug his question off.

It's not like it matters if I'm uptight or not.

"ALEXEY!"

Wah?! I turn to see a girl kind of stomping towards Alexey.

"What is it, Miss Natalia?" He asks.

So Natalia is this loud girl's name...

As she walks closer, I take the time to observe her. She was Russian, like Alexey and Isabella. She had long blond hair, and cyan eyes. Her skin was a little pale, and her figure was a little reserved, but attractive, nonetheless.

She walks over and stares directly at Alexey, "I've been doing absolutely nothing. You told me, and Annabelle was a witness, that you would take me off standby! Oh, look... I'm still here."

Interesting, so she must be a defector then. Seems like she hasn't been on our side too long, so she can't really expect to be in service right away.

Alexey seemed a bit irritated, "Young lady... You have been with us for a minimal amount of time, but here you are, telling me you deserve to participate in missions. I really cannot allow this. On top of that, no squad in their right mind would allow a defector on their team. You need to be patient. I decide when you go."

I finally decide to cut in, "Come on, Alexey, don't you think you should give her a chance? A defector should be tested ASAP."

She looks over and notices me, "See, he thinks I'm ready. Thank you, Mr... I don't even know you." She stops nervously.

What... Did she just... "Hehehe... Ahahahaha! I like this girl! She's hilarious!" I can't hold it, I can't stop laughing, she was so concerned with getting deployed, she didn't notice that she never met me before!

I finally stop laughing and look at Alexey, "If you don't mind, she can work with me."

"What? Really? REALLY?!" Natalia's expression lit up, immensely.

"Welker..." Alexey gave me a disapproving look, "She is under my jurisdiction. You're an outsider to this matter."

"Guess what, now I'm an insider. She's now mine." ... I just realized that could mean a plethora of things. Natalia noticed too, she seems to be blushing a little.

Alexey, however, didn't seem to care, "Welker, do not overstep your boundaries."

"I'm a captain now too, you don't outrank me anymore."

"This is still my camp! I have control here!"

"Are you frustrated at me? Then how about you listen to me instead. I'll take full responsibility for her. No questions, everything will fall squarely on me."

There was a long silence, then Alexey finally spoke again, "You're sure on this? You can't take it back if something happens."

Of course, I know what I said.

"... Very well. Natalia!" He boomed.

"Y-yes sir!" She immediately straightened up.

"As of now, you are a member of Welker's squad. You are to follow his exact orders. If you do not, or he suspects you are not trustworthy, you will immediately be ordered to return, understood?"

"Understood!" She saluted. "And..."

She turned and looked at me, "Thank you, Captain Welker!" She saluted me as well.

Oh, I forgot I started the argument. "Please, Miss Natalia, just call me Welker."

"Okay, Capt- I mean, Welker. But only if you call me Natalia."

"Deal. Now then..." I realized that Isabella was hiding behind me. I step to the side, and the two immediately notice her.

"Oho, and who is this young lady?" Alexey asks with a friendly smile.

"Alexey, Natalia. Meet Isabella. Isabella, meet Alexey and Natalia."

"Um... Hi..." She begins fiddling with her hands and looking around.

"A pleasure to meet you." Alexey said.

"Hello there, Isabella. I'm Natalia, nice to meet you." She said with a smile, and gingerly extended a hand.

Isabella grabbed her hand and smiled, "Hi Natalia!" She then looks at Alexey, "Hello Alexey. It's nice to meet you both."

I pat her on the head, then look at Alexey, "I'll need someone to take care of her."

Alexey nods, "Very well, I'll have Doc look after her." He looks down at his watch.

I guess we've been talking for too long. I hear people unzipping the tent door.

"Well, I think it's about time the meeting starts." Alexey says.

"Yeah, let's get to it." Wait, almost forgot, "Oh and about those certain agents I asked for..."

"We have a mission for you right after this mission, you'll meet them beforehand."

"Hoorah." I respond.

...

...

...

* * *

**Two hours later...**

The meeting was nothing too groundbreaking. There were some things mentioned I wasn't aware of. But overall, it was fairly simple. Just talking about all those who were responsible for the attack, mention of the resistance the US and Britain are encountering in the Middle East. And then... What we can do to stop them. A bullet is the only surefire way. Well enough of that.

The meeting only took an hour, so after that, Natalia and I killed some time by taking a walk. She's actually a very nice person. She's been a soldier for a while, so I can rely on her to back me up. I know that I'll at least have one reliable person. Natalia mentioned some things about Kyon as well. She thinks pretty highly of him. Though, she shared the pretty common opinion about him: he's a bit strange.

As I was walking, I had Natalia in tow, and couldn't stop thinking about one thing... The new team I assembled, how well can we do. I've known Natalia for two hours, and I've never personally met any of the rookies I'm about to meet. If things go south, we could wind up mincemeat. And I doubt anyone ever woke up one day and though, "Hi! Please kill me by turning me into mincemeat."

Ugh, might as well throw that thought out the window.

"Welker, are you okay?" Natalia asks me.

"Perfectly fine, aside from a feeling of despair. But it'll pass. Come on, they're waiting."

Natalia and myself walk back to the meeting tent and enter it once again.

When we got inside, we saw several people sitting around, Alexey included.

He stood up and looked to us, "So you two went for a little walk, eh? Have you fallen for each other yet?"

As I was about to answer, Natalia did it for me, "No! Not at all! We just got to know each other a little bit!" She was actually a little flustered, and it was kind of cute.

I clear my throat, "So then, these are the operatives I asked for?" I look around, getting a look at them.

"Yeah. Get aquainted, you have two hours before your first mission." Alexey patted me on the shoulder, and then left.

Well then, guess we better get started, "All agents, fall in! Form a line and introduce yourselves to us!"

The agents stood up and formed a line.

I walked over and talked to the first agent. He was an Australian boy, about my age, and a little shorter. He had a high and tight haircut for his light brown hair. His blue eyes were full of excitement. The was practically jumping up and down, in fact.

He saluted me, "Private Second Class Casey Thompson! Codename Coto! Sharpshooting and overwatch! I might not have much experience, but you can count on me!" He reported.

I nod, "I'll be relying on you." Then I walk over to the next operative.

The second operative was a girl of Japanese descent. She had medium length black hair down to her neck, and had a choker collar on. Her hazel eyes showed a person of compassion. She seemed to be perky and confident.

She straightened up, "Private First Class Akemi Etsuko! Codename Shimmer! Medical Staff! Please take care of me!"

I smirk and nod to her, "And I hope you will take care of me as well!"

I walk over to the next agent, this one was a British boy. He had short blond hair, and eye black below his brown eyes. His body was so sculpted it was almost intimidating.

He looked me in the eyes, "Corporal James Moyer! Codename Wavelength. I specialize in whatever you need. My talents are suited for assault, though."

I couldn't help but smile, an everything guy. Though his reputation made him out as an infiltrator, it never hurts to have extra skills.

I turn to the last agent, an American boy with shaved reddish hair and blue eyes. He had a bowie knife on his belt, as well as dual magnums.

He cracked his neck, "Private Xavier Ryans. It's not my codename, but I'd prefer if you called my X. I really don't have a specialty, but if I had to name one, it'd be open combat." He reached down and patted the pistol on his right hip.

I nod, and then present myself and Natalia to them, "I'm Captain Welker. As of today, you all are a part of my squad. All I ask of you is that we all give everything our all. I won't tolerate selfishness. Don't fight just for yourself, do it for the man... Or woman next to you! Our first mission together will be in a matter of hours. I'd prefer if none of you died on the first mission. Natalia?" I turn to her.

Natalia nods, then speaks, "Hello, my name is Natalia. Former Russian Youth Arms. Welker put his reputation on the line, and added me to this team. I look forward to working with you all. Let's make it through this and make a name for ourselves."

Each of the agents salute and respond together, "Understood, we won't disappoint!"

Wavelength spoke independently, "We've been talking to each other while waiting for you, and we're confident we'll make an excellent team!"

I couldn't help but feel a bit happy. These agents have never met each other before, but they all seem pretty relaxed around each other.

"Alright. Everyone, get suited up! We leave at sixteen-hundred hours! Let's get started the right way! Hoorah?"

"Hoorah!"

* * *

**Well, that took WAY longer than expected, but here it is!**

**While Welker assembled this team himself, he's never met any of them before today. **

**Their first mission together will be a tough one, and it could end in disaster for the entire JSP if anything goes wrong!**

**I'll update shortly, so please wait patiently!**


End file.
